The second and longest leg of Sailing Arabia – the Tour yacht race was as mentally exhausting as it was physically demanding for crews in the nine-strong race fleet, who arrived at the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club during the early hours of Friday morning (17 February).

Unlike the relatively easy first downhill run from Manama, Bahrain to Doha Qatar, the second and longest leg of the tour to Abu Dhabi was a test of stamina and resilience in what race director Jean-Michel Gaudon described as a very tough race.

“Conditions were difficult with light to moderate headwinds for the entire 160-mile leg and navigating around oil rigs, restricted no-sail zones and dense shipping in the Strait of Hormuz was tricky and complicated.

“It is a credit to the skippers and crews that the entire fleet arrived safely in Abu Dhabi in darkness after 36 hours at sea and there are some very tired sailors,” he said.

It was the French-skippered yachts that proved their experience in the Farr 30 class and led the fleet out from the start. First leg winner Daniel Souben’s French crew onboard Courrier Dunkerque arrived at the first of three ‘gates’ in pole position, ahead of countrymen Cedric Pouligny’s all Omani team on Team BAE Systems (Oman) and Bertrand Pace on Team Commercialbank (Qatar) – the three skippers that were ultimately to claim the podium positions in leg two respectively.

Sailed in mostly light northerly winds, which the fleet encountered head first through most of the leg, little separated the first to last placed boats over the first 12 hours of racing, but as night fell and the breeze freshened from eight to 14 knots, Courrier Dunkerque continued to stretch their lead, eventually winning the leg by 42 minutes over Team BAE Systems with Team Commercialbank 18 minutes further back for third.

Despite being over the line during the start and having to go back, the all women team representing Oman, Al Thuraya BankMuscat, fought hard to regain control, and by the mid-afternoon on day two they were in a tense battle for third place, with Team Commercialbank and Team Renaissance – often with just boats lengths between them.

Raya al Habsi, one of four Omani women competing with Al Thuraya BankMuscat, explained:
“It was a long race and very tough but we are very happy with the result. It was so cold last night (Thursday 16) but in the early morning as the sun came up, we had dolphins swimming alongside us and it was perfect”, she said.
“ We had good wind and we were really excited when we started catching up to the other teams. It was so close but we had some problems with one of our sails in the very leg stretch to the finish so Team Commercialbank just beat us!”

Less than three minutes separated boats three to five on the finish line, with Team Commercialbank eventually just taking third place from the women, who finished just 47 seconds ahead of Team Renaissance in fourth place.

The Omani skipper Ahmed Al Mamari on Team Renaissance, commented on his crews performance.
“It was a tough leg and all the team did a great job. We are pretty tired after that but we are feeling great. We were fighting right to the finish line for the third place. We are now looking to the next leg, and are aiming for at least a top five finish again.”

Despite having won the first two legs of SATT, Courrier Dunkerque’s position at the top of the leaderboard is far from secure. With five more legs to complete, the competition between the fleet is expected to get even tougher, as the teams representing the GCC countries challenge for a place on the podium.

Team Bahrain first-time skipper, Bahraini national Qassim Abdul Razaq sailed a good race with his Arabian crew to come home seventh ahead of Team Muscat 2012 skippered by Omani Mohsin Al Busaldi.

The UAE-flagged entry Team Ras Al Khaimah skippered by John Curran and largely crewed by first-time sailors rounded out the placings in ninth, finishing at 3,28.25 am, less than two minutes before the 3.30am time limit.

Curran commented after the race that to finish a 36-hour race within four hours of second place was a great result and testament to the determination of his crew who put in a worthy performance.
“When we consider the crew came together less than a week before the race and half hadn’t sailed before it’s an encouraging result given it was a very tough and long race.”

The official prize giving for the leg will take place at the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club tomorrow, after a series of short in-port races for the teams within the confines of the Abu Dhabi corniche.

Racing will take place in front of the public beach, providing front row seats for spectators.
The next leg, which will see the teams embark on the 232kilometre leg along the UAE coastline to Ras Al Khaimah, is due to start at 10.00 hours local time on Sunday 19 February. The fleet will then head into Omani waters for the final three stops – Musandam, Mussanah and the final port in Oman’s capital, Muscat.